Surveillance video shows deadly DUI crash, victim remembered for empathy

Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Surveillance video shows deadly DUI crash, victim remembered for empathy
Surveillance video shows deadly DUI crash, victim remembered for empathySparks flew after a suspected drunk driver crashed into Shawn Milton's car on Saturday night.

Sparks flew after a suspected drunk driver crashed into Shawn Milton's car on Saturday night.

Surveillance cameras recorded the last seconds of Milton's life and watching them is shocking for his mother.

"It's just sparks going down half a block from the momentum," she said after seeing the video.

Dorothy Milton still struggles to wrap her head around what happened, but she takes comfort in knowing her son's last day was filled with love as you can see in one final photo with three generations of his family.

"He saw his kids, his dad, sisters, everybody was together and they had a good day, and then that night this guy drives 70-80 mph through town and just slammed into him and ended his life then and there," she said.

Milton left behind five kids and one on the way.

His oldest son just graduated from high school in southern California and he had already planned a trip to the Central Valley for this coming weekend.

"We were going to go around visiting everybody," she said. "We were going to visit his dad, his sisters, and his brother and now he's coming up to say goodbye to his dad. He's never going to get to see him again."

He'll now be attending a memorial service with Milton's family on Friday.

His father's last act was much like early scenes from his life. Dorothy Milton says a homeless friend needed a ride and Shawn stepped up.

They were just a few blocks away when his car showed up on the surveillance cameras in a burst of sparks.

"Shawn always had a big heart," Dorothy Milton said. "Anybody needed help, he would help, no matter who, no matter what they needed. He would help them."

People can return the favor on a Gofundme page set up to pay for Milton's memorial.

Police say 21-year-old Gustavo Blanco was driving drunk and blew a red light before he hit Milton's car.

Prosecutors charged him Tuesday with gross vehicular manslaughter while driving drunk, and causing an injury while driving drunk.

Milton's passenger is still in the hospital with serious injuries.

Blanco will face a judge for the first time on Wednesday.

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